Alternative Tentacles is proud to announce the signing of Hip-Hop legend Blowfly! Before there was Kool Keith, Old Dirty Bastard, or 2 Live Crew- in fact before there was hip-hop for that matter- there was Blowfly. Sampled by Jurassic 5, Ice Cube and Puff Daddy, sued by the head of Publishing giant ASCAP, and the first rap artist to have a record banned ("Porno Freak" in Alabama- 10 years before 2 Live Crew), this 60 year-old caped, masked black superhero / music genius has been credited with everything from inventing rap music and the Miami sound to outraging public decency throughout the South and the world with trash classics like "Shittin' on the Dock of the Bay".

His new album, Fahrenheit 69 is an election piss-take of epic proportions. Tackling issues as far-reaching as R. Kelly, terrorism, G. W. Bush, ugly people, and um... boogers, this album fits perfectly with the independent, irreverent spirit that Alternative Tentacles is synonymous with. Featuring guest appearances from rappers Afroman , Slug (the MC for Atmosphere) and Electroclash freaks Gravy Train, Fahrenheit 69 is Blowfly's first album of completely new material since 1988's Blowfly For President. One listen to Fahrenheit 69 is ample evidence that new material has been long, long overdue.

Alternative Tentacles is thrilled to be responsible for unleashing the legendary Blowfly on a new generation of unsuspecting freaks!

January 21, 2005 - That's right. It's been a great ride, but it's time to move on. We'd like to thank all of you for your love and support over the fifteen years.

Don't despair just yet, though—if you never seen us live, or want to for one last time, you can! We're lining up some farewell gigs, the first of which will be on Wednesday, February 16th at the Elbo Room in San Francisco. (See Show Dates for more details.) We're also hoping to do one big everlovin' blowout of a last show, at a swanktastic place like the Carnegie or the Fillmore or even good ol' Michigan."

Alternative Tentacles wishes all the members of Tribe 8, past and present, great success with their various writing, musical, and other artistic projects in the future. You will be missed!

02/01/05: Ward Churchill under attack by the Right
Ward Churchill, American Indian radical activist, professor, author, and lecturer, has been the target of the right-wing press in the US for the past few days. As a long-time AT spoken word artist (with our friends, AK Press, who also publish many of his books), Alternative Tentacles strongly supports his right to publish his always challenging writings, and we are proud to offer the 2 Ward Churchill spoken word cds we've co-released with AK Press. We also carry some of his AK Press-released books

Here is a statement released by Ward Churchill yesterday:

"In the last few days there has been widespread and grossly inaccurate media coverage concerning my analysis of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, coverage that has resulted in defamation of my character and threats against my life. What I actually said has been lost, indeed turned into the opposite of itself, and I hope the following facts will be reported at least to the same extent that the fabrications have been.

* The piece circulating on the internet was developed into a book, On the Justice of Roosting Chickens. Most of the book is a detailed chronology of U.S. military interventions since 1776 and U.S. violations of international law since World War II. My point is that we cannot allow the U.S. government, acting in our name, to engage in massive violations of international law and fundamental human rights and not expect to reap the consequences.

* I am not a "defender"of the September 11 attacks, but simply pointing out that if U.S. foreign policy results in massive death and destruction abroad, we cannot feign innocence when some of that destruction is returned. I have never said that people "should" engage in armed attacks on the United States, but that such attacks are a natural and unavoidable consequence of unlawful U.S. policy. As Martin Luther King, quoting Robert F. Kennedy, said, "Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable."

* This is not to say that I advocate violence; as a U.S. soldier in Vietnam I witnessed and participated in more violence than I ever wish to see. What I am saying is that if we want an end to violence, especially that perpetrated against civilians, we must take the responsibility for halting the slaughter perpetrated by the United States around the world. My feelings are reflected in Dr. King's April 1967 Riverside speech, where, when asked about the wave of urban rebellions in U.S. cities, he said, "I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed . . . without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today - my own government."

* In 1996 Madeleine Albright, then Ambassador to the UN and soon to be U.S. Secretary of State, did not dispute that 500,000 Iraqi children had died as a result of economic sanctions, but stated on national television that "we" had decided it was "worth the cost." I mourn the victims of the September 11 attacks, just as I mourn the deaths of those Iraqi children, the more than 3 million people killed in the war in Indochina, those who died in the U.S. invasions of Grenada, Panama and elsewhere in Central America, the victims of the transatlantic slave trade, and the indigenous peoples still subjected to genocidal policies. If we respond with callous disregard to the deaths of others, we can only expect equal callousness to American deaths.

* Finally, I have never characterized all the September 11 victims as "Nazis." What I said was that the "technocrats of empire" working in the World Trade Center were the equivalent of "little Eichmanns." Adolf Eichmann was not charged with direct killing but with ensuring the smooth running of the infrastructure that enabled the Nazi genocide. Similarly, German industrialists were legitimately targeted by the Allies.

* It is not disputed that the Pentagon was a military target, or that a CIA office was situated in the World Trade Center. Following the logic by which U.S. Defense Department spokespersons have consistently sought to justify target selection in places like Baghdad, this placement of an element of the American "command and control infrastructure" in an ostensibly civilian facility converted the Trade Center itself into a "legitimate" target. Again following U.S. military doctrine, as announced in briefing after briefing, those who did not work for the CIA but were nonetheless killed in the attack amounted to no more than "collateral damage." If the U.S. public is prepared to accept these "standards" when the are routinely applied to other people, they should be not be surprised when the same standards are applied to them.

* It should be emphasized that I applied the "little Eichmanns" characterization only to those described as "technicians." Thus, it was obviously not directed to the children, janitors, food service workers, firemen and random passers-by killed in the 9-1-1 attack. According to Pentagon logic, were simply part of the collateral damage. Ugly? Yes. Hurtful? Yes. And that's my point. It's no less ugly, painful or dehumanizing a description when applied to Iraqis, Palestinians, or anyone else. If we ourselves do not want to be treated in this fashion, we must refuse to allow others to be similarly devalued and dehumanized in our name.

* The bottom line of my argument is that the best and perhaps only way to prevent 9-1-1-style attacks on the U.S. is for American citizens to compel their government to comply with the rule of law. The lesson of Nuremberg is that this is not only our right, but our obligation. To the extent we shirk this responsibility, we, like the "Good Germans" of the 1930s and '40s, are complicit in its actions and have no legitimate basis for complaint when we suffer the consequences. This, of course, includes me, personally, as well as my family, no less than anyone else.

* These points are clearly stated and documented in my book, On the Justice of Roosting Chickens, which recently won Honorary Mention for the Gustavus Myer Human Rights Award. for best writing on human rights. Some people will, of course, disagree with my analysis, but it presents questions that must be addressed in academic and public debate if we are to find a real solution to the violence that pervades today's world. The gross distortions of what I actually said can only be viewed as an attempt to distract the public from the real issues at hand and to further stifle freedom of speech and academic debate in this country.

Ward Churchill
Boulder, Colorado
January 31, 2005

01/21/05: Bat Yard Sale Saturday the 29th!
That's right, it's another Bat Yard Sale, along with our buddies @ Little Type and Astropitch! We'll have music, computer parts, office items, and who knows what else for sale @ our warehouse in Emeryville, CA. If it rains, we'll be inside, if not we'll be catching some California sun while cutting deals on the neatest bits this side of the Caldicott!

Where: 1501 Powell Street- under the overpass on the same street as the Emeryville Amtrak Station.

When: Saturday January 29, 10am-3pm

01/04/05: Help Tsunami victims today!
Like most people, we've been shocked and saddened by the immense devestation and loss of life around the Indian Ocean. We've finally gotten ourselves together enough to offer you some of the staff's choices of non-profits who are working to restore some semblance of a sustainable existance in the areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami 12/26/04. This is not a complete list (we'll be adding to it over the next weeks), and always check Charity Navigator for consumer information about various charities.

1. Oxfam America for US donors, or Oxfam International for the nearest Oxfam to your country. According to Charity Navigator, 76.9% of donations to Oxfam America go to relief efforts.

2. Seva Foundation, an international health organization focusing on eye care in South Asia and other places.

Seva is working initially with two organizations to respond to emergency and reconstruction needs:

In Sri Lanka, Seva is working with IMPACT Sri Lanka which has set up five "health camps" in the worst affected regions of Hambantota, Matara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee where most of the hospitals and health centers have been destroyed or washed away. Funds are being utilized to purchase medicines, drugs, dressings dehydrating salts and vaccines.
In India, Seva is working with the Aravind Eye Care System and its hospital in Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, where emergency relief measures are under way. Aravind is concentrating on rebuilding communities destroyed by the tsunami. Specifically the focus is on building or rebuilding homes in Cuddalore district, one of the worst affected areas around Pondicherry. According to Charity Navigator, 78.8% of donations go to relief efforts.

3. Direct Relief International focuses on health-by providing essential material resources to locally run health programs in poor areas around the world and during times of disaster. Direct Relief International is a non-political and non-sectarian organization that provides assistance without regard to race, ethnicity, political or religious affiliation, gender, or ability to pay. According to Charity Navigator, 99.1% of donations go to relief efforts.

Don't forget, the % of donations going to relief efforts encompasses all of the charity's operations, so the South Asia Tsunami/Earthquake Relief efforts may have a higher % of donations going to relief. Also, the % depends on how large a charity it is.

12/24/04: Jesse the Mail Male on KALX this season
Thanks to the holiday season, long-time KALX dj and AT mail male Jesse Luscious will be on the air (and live on-line) multiple times this month and next. You can tune in if you're in the Bay Area at 90.7 FM or anywhere in the world at http://kalx.berkeley.edu . All times are Pacific Time.

12/23/04: Doc Dart back as "26" on Crustacean Records!
Doc Corbin Dart, the leader of the infamous Crucifucks, is back with a new album on Crustacean Records. "The Messiah" was released under Doc's new moniker "26." While there's no exact reason given for the alias, Doc's commented to the Lansing City Pulse that he's been working with "mystical trances" and has been known to leave phone messages that say "His name is the number 26…He is the Messiah…He has arrived at the mountaintop…And no one on earth can bring him down."

12/22/04: Bellrays singer rocks with the MC5 and Sun Ra!DKT/MC5, the current incarnation of the legendary MC5, have announced a one-off show in London next year with "sonic jazz phenomenon" Sun Ra Arkestra.

The show will take place at the Royal Festival Hall and feature original MC5 members Michael Davis on bass, Wayne Kramer on guitar and Dennis Thompson on drums with vocals provided by Lisa Kekaula of The Bellrays. Tickets are on sale now for the February 25th show here. Time for a road trip!

12/20/04: Brandon of LOC passes away
It is with a very heavy heart that we at Alternative Tentacles have to announce the passing away of Leftover Crack drummer Brandon Chevalier-Kolling, aka Brandon Possible. Brandon was 24 years old.

Leftover Crack's Stza Crack issued the following statement on the death of his friend and bandmate:

"At some point on the morning of Friday, December 17th our friend & drummer Brandon died in his sleep at a Dallas, Texas hotel after our show at the Red Blood club. There will be a funeral for him in N.J. on Wednesday the 22nd. We will ask his blood-family if they want the location posted here for anybody who wishes to attend.

Brandon was not only the most talented drummer we have ever played with, but anyone that knew him can tell you that he was one of nicest funny & caring people in the world. At a time when I became totally disillusioned & turned off from playing music he showed-up to completely inspire me & remind me about the fun & meaning of what it was that we were doing.

We will miss him with all of our hearts & minds until we meet our own ends."

We at Alternative Tentacles wish to express our deepest condolences to Brandon's family, friends and band-mates in this sorrowful time.

12/17/04: Gary Webb RIP
This is a bit late but still very timely. From Monday 12/13/04's Democracy Now:

"Gary Webb, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who wrote a series of stories linking the CIA to crack cocaine trafficking in Los Angeles, is dead at age 49.

Webb was found Friday morning at his home in Sacramento County, dead of an apparent suicide. Moving-company workers called authorities after discovering a note posted on his front door that read, "Please do not enter. Call 911 and ask for an ambulance." Webb died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Sacramento County coroner's office. He is survived by two sons and a daughter.

Gary Webb's 1996 series in the San Jose Mercury News titled "Dark Alliance" revealed that for the better part of a decade, a Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to Los Angeles street gangs and funneled millions in drug profits to the CIA-backed Nicaraguan Contras.

It provoked a fierce reaction from the media establishment, which denounced the series. Following the controversy, San Jose Mercury News executive editor demoted Webb within the paper. He resigned and pushed his investigation even further in his book "Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion."

There's an interview with author and journalist Robert Parry at Democracy Now, in both written and video format.

A bill proposed by State Representative Gerald Allen of Cottondale, Alabama, would prohibit the use of tax dollars to purchase the textbooks or library materials that promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. The Alabama Republican believes pro-homosexual novels and textbooks are prevalent in the state's public and university libraries, and he views his legislation as a "good start" towards addressing the moral decline in American culture.

Rep. Gerald AllenIf Allen's proposed legislation becomes law, children's books, young adult novels, and even literary classics containing positive portrayals of homosexual characters would have to be removed from library shelves across the state and destroyed, along with any college-level books or texts that suggest homosexuality is natural or acceptable. The bill would also prohibit a teacher from handing out materials or bringing in a classroom speaker who promotes homosexuality, and it would ban all materials that recognize or promote any acts the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws of Alabama prohibit, homosexual or otherwise.

Critics of Allen's bill warn that its broad proscriptions would ban many important and popular works of literature, such as Alice Walker's The Color Purple, Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, and Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, as well as certain plays of Tennessee Williams, for example. But the Alabama legislator has been widely quoted as advocating that, for all pro-homosexual literature and educational materials found in public schools, universities and libraries, "we should dig a big hole and dump them in and bury them."

Last month Punk Voter folks got together in Frisco and sussed out what we'll be doing next. After helping to get more 18-24s to the polls than ever before- and halting the steady slide in the % of youth voters- in November's national US elections- Punk Voter is switching our focus.

Now we're going to concentrate on 4 specific areas for the immediate future:

You can read more about it in AT Mail Male Jesse "Luscious" Townley's Guest Column on the Punk Voter site. There's also an update on Jesse's campaign for Berkeley City Council there. Dig in and step up!

12/02/04: Pre-Inauguration "To-Do" List
Okay, okay, so it's a currently popular e-mail that's being sent to everyone and their mother by everyone else, but it's still a neat list. It's certainly an indicator of the left's worst fears/suspicions at this point in history...

1. Get that abortion you've always wanted (like any woman actually wants to get one).
2. Drink your last clean glass of water.
3. Cash your social security check.
4. See a doctor of your own choosing.
5. Spend quality time with your draft age child/grandchild.
6. Visit Syria, or any foreign country for that matter.
7. Get that gas mask you've been putting off buying.
8. Hoard gasoline.
10. Borrow books from library before they're banned - Constitutional law books, Catcher in the Rye, Harry Potter, Tropic of Cancer, etc.
11. If you have an idea for an art piece involving a crucifix - do it now.
12. Come out - then go back in - HURRY!
13. Jam in all the Alzheimer's stem cell research you can.
14. Stay out late before the curfews start!
15. Go see Marilyn Manson (or Jello Biafra or any other artist that challenges the First Amendment) before he(/she) has his(their) "accident".
16. Go see Mount Rushmore before the Reagan addition.
17. Use the phrase - "you can't do that - this is America".
18. Take a walk in Yosemite, without being hit by a snowmobile or a base-jumper.
19. Enroll your kid in an accelerated art or music class.
20. Start your school day without a prayer.
21. Pass on the secrets of evolution to future generations.
22. Learn French.
23. Attend a commitment ceremony with your gay friends.
24. Take a factory tour anywhere in the US.
25. Try to take photographs of animals on the endangered species list.
26. Visit Florida before the polar ice caps melt.
27. Visit Nevada before it becomes radioactive.
28. Visit Alaska before "The Big Spill".
29. Visit Massachusetts while it is still a State.
30. Get on the waiting list to move to Canada.

11/18/04: Warning! Satire Ahead!
Warning! Dangerous new STD hits US!

The Centers for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of sexually transmitted disease. This disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior. The disease is called Gonorrhea lecthim (pronounced "gonna re-elect him"). Many victims have contracted it after having been screwed for the past 4 years, and in spite of having taken measures to protect themselves from this especially virulent disease.